With over $100 trillion in outstanding government and corporate bonds globally and sustained high financing costs, companies and investors alike have been facing challenging times, amplified recently by heightened trade tensions and tariffs. In the Netherlands, companies are pressured by higher working capital needs and supply chain uncertainties. To stay competitive, they optimize their cash conversion cycle and streamline operations to retain more cash for trading, growth, investment, and debt reduction. Supplier management and the purchase-to-pay process are key components of working capital management.
We researched over 300 of the largest companies in the Netherlands and collected publicly available data on standard supplier payment terms of 100 companies to form a view on prevailing practices in this community. 60 days is the prevalent standard payment term used by nearly half of the companies in our sample, followed by 30 days. Besides payment days, various other contractual clauses impacting working capital performance are being deployed, which we will explain later in this paper. It is key for companies to understand the right payment terms in their sectors and jurisdictions in order to balance legal compliance, supply chain resilience and financial health. Download the publication below for more insights.
